| History
History of the Lawton Rangers
Jan
3, 2005
In
the 1930’s some local people had the idea to celebrate
Lawton’s Birthday on August 6th in western style
and they called themselves the Buckaroos. The first
rodeo arena was built in the downtown area. In 1941,
about twenty men decided to form a Riding Club. Plans
were made at the time to produce good rodeos and schedule
matched horse racing.
In
1944, there were twenty-one shares of the stock issued
to charter members of the Lawton Rangers at $1,00.00
a share. The club’s purpose was to improve the
breed of cattle and horses in southwest Oklahoma, to
promote and produce rodeos and other forms of entertainment,
and encourage breeding of pure-breed cattle and horses.
Also in 1944 land was purchased on Highway 277, south
of Lawton and was named the “LO Ranch”.
The first rodeo was held there on August 3-6, 1945.
Seating capacity in 1952 was 750 and in 1960 was enlarged
to 5,000.
In
1967, 40 Acres of land was purchased east of Lawton
and is now the home of the Lawton Rangers. The new location
continues the tradition of the Rangers and bears the
well-known name of the “LO RANCH”. Though
continued efforts of the Ranger’s community support,
and sponsorship, the arena has made numerous changes
over the years. Facility improvements have been a determining
factor in attracting some of the best professional Rodeo
Cowboy athletes each year.
Later
the Lawton Rangers, Inc was chartered in the State of
Oklahoma as a non-profit organization.
In
1996 the Rangers poured a dance floor on the north end
of the arena so the rodeos could have a Rodeo dance.
In
1999 we added on the south end of the arena above the
chutes a VIP stand with an announcer booth, and expanded
it in 2001. In 2002 the Ranges made bathrooms for the
contestants with a storage area for Ranger’s supplies.
The
Lawton Rangers, while continuing with our main objectives,
We have expanded our community involvement during
the past several years. The Rangers provide College
Scholarships, prize money for the Comanche County Spring
Livestock Show, Comanche County 4-H Equestrian Club,
assist with the Giddy-up-Go program for youth and have
supported local elementary programs by providing newspapers
in classes for Educational Purposes. We have also contributed
to the Battered Women’s Shelter.
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